


Reverence

by JelliPuddi



Category: MediEvil (Video Games)
Genre: Kift has awful self-esteem, headcanon stuff of these two is in the fic, mention of suicide thoughts, unlikely friendship between a scientist and a criminal lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 08:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13073517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JelliPuddi/pseuds/JelliPuddi
Summary: Sir Daniel stormed off to find the Time Machine, hoping to go back in time and save Princess Kiya. Professor Kift is left behind. The professor can only wonder how Daniel learned about that old project, until an old friend steps in to answer… while having questions of his own that he wants to have answered.





	Reverence

**Author's Note:**

> I was supposed to update Uchū Jigoku but instead got the itch to write a one-shot because this idea was in my head for a while. :L
> 
> This does not take place within the Res 2 continuity, but rather, the original MediEvil II.

_ He had been staring at the poster for nearly an hour now. _

 

It trembled in his metal hands, his grip was loose, the piece of paper could have slipped from his fingers at any time, but it remained as still as he was. How did he find out about it? Why was Daniel suddenly so determined to get Kiya back? So many questions were ringing in his head, and the most the professor could think was that it was his own doing. His fault that Dan was acting this way, it was as if he betrayed the knight’s trust and let Kiya get killed.

Dropping the paper finally, he flopped back on his bed, hearing it creak loudly on the impact. The most that the professor could do now was just stare at the ceiling. It was hopeless without Daniel, Palethorn would take over London, then the world probably. It was no one’s fault but his own, that’s what Professor Kift kept telling himself. Even when a part of him wanted to say Daniel was being unreasonable, something in the back of his mind was biting him into thinking otherwise.

He couldn’t live with himself. The professor thought he didn’t deserve to live. What had he accomplished? Nothing but failures. He always screwed up in some way. Whether it be a creation, saving someone’s life, or holding a friendship, he always messed it up. If he wasn’t such a coward, the professor would have killed himself by now. Either he was afraid of failing to execute suicide, or he was simply too afraid, and selfish deep down.

So all the old man could do was lay there, and accept whatever came next. He already could listen to the sound of shuffling, someone entering his hidden lab. It was probably Death at his very doorstep, preparing to take him away and save Kift the trouble of witnessing whatever chaos came ahead. More likely, it could be Lord Palethorn himself along with his minions ready to mock the professor for his feeble attempts.

But Palethorn didn’t have all the spell-book pages still, maybe things would turn out for the better? No, Palethorn was always a step ahead. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he suddenly got all of them. All of this just made the professor’s head hurt even more. Even if Palethorn was prepared to finish him off, Kift would probably be scared, though it was what he wanted… No, he didn’t want that. He wanted to live and be a success, but everything was turning against him.

What was the point? He didn’t even look to see who entered his room, Kift continued to stare blankly, his body tensing up, waiting for the intruder to speak up.

 

“Why didn’t you tell ‘im the truth?”

No, that wasn’t Palethorn’s voice. He had that same cockney accent, but it was a bit raspier.It took a bit of effort, but the professor finally sat back up. His stomach was in knots as it was, but the presence of the person standing before him only made it worse. Of all people to be judged by, it had to be a petty crook, one that he had known for years at that.

The professor didn’t say anything in response to the Spiv standing there, who picked up the poster that was dropped. “I’ve been holding onto this for years y’know, back when you were working on that ol’ Chrono-chair. Shame you gave up on it, like y’do with a lot of things, unlike that Daniel bloke.”

“But,” Kift finally said, “he’s the one that ran off from going against Palethorn!”

“Ah, finally talkin’, that’s more like it.” The Spiv replied with a grin. “I can tell, you know nothing about how a knight acts. They’re chivalrous, and the only thing worse than losing a battle and dyin’ is royalty being killed. D’ya get it, mate? That Dan fellow would rather go back and save a princess if he can, otherwise he feels like he’s failed at bein’ a knight. He’s not just fightin’ for you, but London itself, and the princess he found sleepin’ in it. 

“If he was back in that Gallowmere time, he probably would’ve given up just as much if the king of that land had been suddenly assassinated. It’s like playing chess, once royalty is cleared out, there’s no point in going forward.” Putting the poster back inside of his coat, the Spiv kept staring at Kift, expecting him to say something.

The professor stumbled over his words for a good minute, trying to think over what he wanted to say, rather than spout nonsense. Sighing, he collected his thoughts and spoke up. “I am upset over Kiya’s loss also, I can’t forgive myself, but the fact of the matter is, no one can stop Palethorn but him! If I try it, I’ll surely fail, like I do with everything else—”

“What is this with you not forgiving yourself?” The Spiv interjected.

“Huh?”

“You’ve always been saying things like that, ever since I’ve known you. Blaming yourself for things constantly, but never taking the chance to improve yourself so it doesn’t happen again. Just when I think you’ve reached the bottom, y’manage to dig yourself into a deeper hole, that makes it hard for me t’pull you out.” 

Shaking his head, the Spiv noticed Kift was trembling, but didn’t take that as a sign to stop. “Now, lemme guess why you don’t want Daniel heading off. You’re afraid that…”

“Something will happen to him,” Kift mumbled, “and we’ll lose him, as well as the chances of defeating Palethorn. I mean, that Chrono-chair was defective! Nothing came back in its original form when I used it, they become all runny and—”

“No, omit the Palethorn part, Kift. Say what you really feel.”

He just couldn’t stop shaking. Why was this happening? Why was he being put on the spot like this? 

“I’m afraid we’ll lose Daniel,” he murmured softly, “just like how we lost Kiya, and—” cutting himself off, the professor cleared his throat. The Spiv already knew what he was doing to mention, and it was evident that Kift wanted to sob about that as well.

“And Winston, is what y’were about to say?” The Spiv easily filled in the blanks. He knew Kift far too well. “Two unfortunate incidents, and you had the chance to go back and save Winston with the Chrono-chair, but you would rather wallow around in failure and self-hatred rather than do anything, unlike Dan. You’re upset that Daniel is off with the courage, doing something you would never try because he got over being upset.” He noticed that Kift was looking away from him now, shaking like crazy, because Kift knew that he was right.

“Similarly, y'believe you can’t stop Palethorn, even though you’re so much smarter than that bugger. You have technology others can only wish for at your fingertips, but because you lack confidence and are so afraid of failure, you would prefer that a hero with experience goes off and does the dirty work. Isn’t that right? I mean, you said it yourself, Palethorn isn’t the most educated fool, you could have easily strategized against him.”

Kift continued to the stare at the wall, unable to look at his old friend in the eye. “Ignoring me now, when I’m just trying to help? This is also pretty typical of you,” the Spiv faked a chuckle, a hint of sorrow in his voice. “Especially with how many times you haven’t listened to my advice, you just nod your head and pretend to understand. Now tell me, what is it that’s really stopping you from doing anything?” 

Still, he was quiet, it wasn’t going to be easy to get the professor’s attention again, so the Spiv knew he had to do it by force. “Y’know, I really don’t like being rough, but when it comes to you, I’m left with no choice.” Turning Kift’s head by the chin, the Spiv glared at him. 

“Say it. What is it that stops you from doing anything at all? Why are you afraid of mistakes?”

Greatly startled, Kift found himself stammering over his words once again. A grip was now on his shoulders, shoving the professor down on his back. “Stop thinking, just speak your mind. You’re being selfish!”

Swallowing his pride, Kift struggled. “I am!”

“Oh,” the Spiv drew back, letting go of Kift’s shoulders. “So you admit it?”

“What of it?” Kift replied, gaining the courage to stare down at his friend. “I keep striving for perfection, but everything just falls, and I feel like a failure. That’s why, I don’t understand the point in trying when someone else can do much better than I can!” He came to a sudden realization, holding his head at the fact. “Oh, oh god, I’m no better than Palethorn. All I want is respect, just like he does, and I do the worst to get it. I lie, I use others, I let someone get killed, and I’m here seeking revenge on him.”

That moment of bravery immediately began to slip away, as the professor felt his eyes droop. Curling up into a fetal position on the bed, he began closing up once more. “Just, leave me be, Monty. I’m not worthy of anyone’s high opinion, and I see that now. I’m petty, and I never really try unless there’s something in it for me at the end. All my passions, they were just for two people, myself and someone.”

 

Silence.

 

This wasn’t what the Spiv expected. Nor did he think that Kift would utter the Spiv’s actual name, he hadn’t heard that in a long time. He was always under the impression Kift was doing this for himself, but there was another? Just when he had accused the professor of being selfish. It couldn’t be Palethorn, so why in the world would Kift bring it up? “You don’t need to impress anyone, y’know. I respect you, and you should respect yourself. That’s all you need, and all that matters. Self-respect.” 

Sitting down on the bed next to the balled up professor, he attempted to comfort him. “People make mistakes, it’s what makes us human. We do things we think we can’t take back. We can either do what’s right, or what’s wrong.” The Spiv finally removed his hat, revealing his eyes, which were hidden behind a small pair of dirty spectacles. “Whose approval do you need so badly? Who needs to know that you’re perfect at things you do?” 

It began to make sense to the Spiv now. Kift only did things such as replicate weapons for Daniel, rather than actively help, because he knew that he couldn’t possibly mess that up. He tried to send Kiya off too, but it ended with her death. A mistake he knew he couldn’t take back, no different than the mistake of letting Winston go out near that railroad.

The professor wept something unintelligible to himself. “Come again?” The Spiv asked. “Couldn’t quite catch that, mate.”

“You."

 

Kift finally raised his head, sobbing quietly. “It’s your respect I kept wanting. Monty, you were always looking out for me when it came to my progress, and it wasn’t fair! I could never return the favor, or show you how far I’ve come without something slipping up. I joined the Magic Circle, in hopes of being able to not have to rely on you on the time like I do when I’m working with technology. When I helped Palethorn in hopes of accomplishing something, I ended up needing your help again.” Glancing at his metal hands, Kift clenched his fists and lightly twitched his fingers, still recalling that horrible experience.

He was recovered by a fisherman, arms crushed to nothing by bite-sized pieces. The Spiv eventually picked him up and took Kift back to London after the two contacted each other. To make it worse, the Spiv didn’t have a choice but to fix Kift’s arms on his own. Kift couldn’t pay the bill for proper prosthetics from medical services, and while the Spiv often would charge hefty prices, the professor usually got a “discount” for being such a close friend, or he would try to pay off the debt over time. Not that the Spiv cared whether he did or not. He only demanded money back when he was in a bad mood or when he was joking around with Kift.

On the plus side, for a crook, the Spiv was smart and had a great amount of knowledge when it came to technology. He was able to attach the smuggled prosthetics onto the professor, with only a few hitches.

“You gave me such a look of disappointment when you were doing those fixes on my hands, Monty. Either it was because of me getting tangled in that mess, or for trusting Palethorn’s words. I had to show you what I—”

The Spiv began laughing to himself, amused by the whole ordeal. “Look of disappointment? Mate, that was never directed at you. I was disappointed in myself really. I was supposed to be a carrier of goods that avoids the law, watches everything that happens, and makes questionable deals. Instead though, I became attached to a frequent customer, one who became my pal. Then, I start worrying about them and tell them my real name, when that could get me in a heap of trouble. Despite all of this, it’s my respect y’want? When you already got it, more than I respect myself at this point?”

More silence, as the Spiv took off his spectacles and began polishing them. “It’s really no good then,” slapping Kift on the back, the Spiv put his specs back on. “You can’t praise yourself as a scientist or magician because of silly mistakes, while I can’t admire myself as a black market dealer for being so human when it comes to you. We’re both stuck. We revere each other, but not ourselves. Funny how that all works, I guess it doesn’t matter at all.”

If it weren’t for his metal hands Kift would have been biting his fingernails right now. It was a tough habit, only broken from the prosthetics, but even then he would sometimes bite down on them by accident, forgetting about them. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

“Our ideas of self-respect doesn’t matter, that’s what. Listen, mate, I’m going to put all the laws of a spiv aside, just to help you out. I’m going to respect myself as a person, not as a dealer. Now, what are you going to do?”

Professor Kift wasn’t completely stupid, he knew the answer to this one, and he wasn’t going to take his time to think before answering. Kift had to be loud, and clear, he couldn’t hesitate and trip over all his words.“I’m not going to blame myself anymore,” Kift said, “I’m going to improve upon my mistakes. I’m going to treat myself right, rather than keep aiming for perfection and fame. I won’t be hesitant to fall back on you when things get tough, because I know we have mutual respect here!”

Tears were filling Kift’s goggles. He had to remove them, just to wipe his eyes. He had lost a lot in his life, but he was glad to know that his partnership with the crook wasn’t one of them. The boy’s death had been tugging him down for so long, and he knew it was time to let go. Clinging to the past mistakes wouldn’t help him.

The both of them would stop Palethorn. They could plan something so that he doesn’t get all the spell-book pages, and so he’s obliterated from this world. Kift was going to fix all of this. He started this mess, and he was going to end it.

 

This development, this realization, and this reverence that was shared…

 

_ It would all be for naught, as Kiya’s death would soon be undone, and the confrontation would not exist. _


End file.
